Door-operating apparatus.



N0. s57,232. P-ATENTED JUNE 18, 1907.

P. R. FORMAN. DOOR OPERATING APPARATUS.

APPLIUATION FILED OUT-27 1905.

3'BHEETSSHEET 1.

\A v A FII PA'I ENTED JUNHIB, 1907 P. R. FORMAN DOOR OPERATINGAPPARATUS.- APPLIQATION FILED OOT.27, 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

\ No. 857,232. PA'TENTED JUNE 18. 1907.

P. R; FURMAN.

DOOR OPERATING-APPARATUS.

APPLIUATION FILED 001257, 1 w v 905 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

"-TIN OF ILLINOIS.

O FICE.

I rinse. FORMAN, or enIcAe -ILLI oIs, ASSIGNOR T0 URD TT-ROWN TREEMANUFACTURING COMPANL} or CHICAGO, LLIN Is, A coRPoRA.

To a, whom it may concern! Be it'known that L'Pnnrs R. FORMAN, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Chicage, in thocounty of, Cookand State of Il1i'-' nois, have invented a new and. useful 'Improvementin Door Operating Apparatus, of

. which the followingis a specification.-

- My invention relates .to power operating-' a para-tus for doors, andone off-its objects is t e provision of simple, and efficient means foroperating doors"quickly and bringing the same to rest without'slamming.

-More particularly it is the object the present invention to accelerateadoor when started from Its open or OlOSBd pOSltlOIl and i to retard themotion of the door toward the endof its travel-.

Other objects of'the present invention will appear hereinafter, thenovel combinations 2o 0 elements being pointed'out in the claims. In the;accompanying drawings, Flgure 1 represents my invention applied to thedoor of a railway car; Fig. 2 is a similaryiew showing the door in open.position; Fig. 3 is a plan' view of the. operating apparatus, Fig. A 4is a -sectional viewofa portion of Fig 1 on the line a-a and looking inthe direction of the arrows; and Figs.,5 and'fi aredetaillviews of oneform of automaticcatch for retaining the door'in closed position.

' Various means have by a door operated by pressure, such as airpressure, can be cushionedvan'd brought, to rest without slamming. Oneof such means partially closes thevalve as the door nears the end of itstravel, thereby retaining a poriylinder to par;

tion of the exhaust air in the 'tially retard the motion of e' door. IAnother means used is to connect the door byf'a connecting rod'to acrank-arm 'or wheel-having a semi-circular motion thereby slowing? 1113pthe door by the motion of the crank-arm. xperience has shown, ,7however; I that a crank-arm deviceis successfulin properlycushioning-the door only where certain and steady motion is-given to:the crank-arm, as,

for example, when the crank-arm isdriven by a motor operating at a fixedspeed which fixed speed is not a preciably affected by the momentum ofthe oor. My invention comprises means for eush ioning the door by meansof a crank arm mobeen designed jvhere-j DOOR-OPERATING APPA RATUS.

operating only toward the end of the travel ohthe door and a constantlyvarying actuat ing ressure j I 1 3A thouglil have er'ein shown oneembodication, it lsobvious that, those's killed in the art may makeslightvariations in-the details from the spirit and scope} of myinyention,

precise construction'- of apparatus herein .shown and described. I IReferring to the drawings, in Figs. i1 and 2.

car body (providedwith a door-way 3",which is adapte I Secured to .theleft of the door, I have shown a bracket 4 to which is pivoted at'5 alink 6 of.

tion shown in Fig. 2, the pivotal point 5 will be in alinement'with theivotal oints7 and 9 as it is also when'the oor is [c osed. The

fixed to t 'e segment-gear); 'This segment the bearing .9 which issuitably securedto some'fixed part ofthe car-body. In mesh supported insubstantially horizontal position by the'bracket 12 andpivoted at '13'to thejpiston rod 14. A' piston 1'5 which is adapted to move in the clinder 16 is connectedto the left-hand cm of the piston rod 14 and ismoved in one direction or the other by means of some fluid power, suchas steam or'air. 17 designates the valve mechanism .for controlling theflow of fluid to and from the cylinder 16, this valve mechanism'beingconnected by the stem .18 to an arm 19 whic 1 in-tnrn-is"conne'cted by asystem oflinks and levers to an operating-leverft preferably at "theextreme end of the car'w ere'thesame may be accessible fro'mxin'side oroutsidethe car. Preferably the operating levers 40'are placed 'just'outsidef'of the'car, so that'in a levers at the same time, one wlth eachhand, .so as to effect the opening of two car doors, one in the car athis left and the other in the car at his right. The lever 40 isconnected by a link 39 to the bell-crank 38 which is con- .to be closedby'the sliding door link fi is' ivoted at 7 to the arm S -which is.

with the segment-gear 10 is a rack-bar L11 h "SpecificationofLettersPatent. i'atezited June 18, 1907. Applicaticniile'd Gumbel-2 7, 1905Serialll'o.284,594; I I I i I,

tion: incombinati'on with a, retarding device m nt of, my invention toillustrate its appli and arrangement of'parts withoutdeparting I Idesire, therefore, not-to be limited to the p I have-shownin dottedlines 1' one end of the such shape that, when moved into the-posif gearand the arm 8 are rotatably mounted on train a guard or operator mayactuate two cylinder 16; The valve mechanism 17 is not.

easily p notedthat the pivotal pomts 5, 7 and 9am In 4o substantialalinement with each (fr m; Lsof is usally kept wide open. 0

The latter lever thebell-crank 3 32, and the link 20, .to the arm 19. Riidly attached tothe'stenr18 so asto move't iere-' with is the U-shapedprojection 21' which isadapted to.. 'abut against the stop22 on theherein shown in detail, since it is not espccially concerned with myinvention. Anv suitable valve mechanism may be employed, such. forexample, that illustrated in the patent to H. Rowntree, No. 596,946, January' 4, 1898, Closure controllingapparatus or in the patent to ll; ltowntree, No. 619$. 50, February 4, 1899, Door operating mechan-' ism.

Although any suitable source of 7 power may he used, I ,haveherein showna tank 24 containinq' CUIIIPIGSSBL'l air, said tank being connected bythe pipe23 through the valve 30 and pipe 22 to the valve mechanism 17.

26 designates a pipe or passage which establishes coi'nnnmieationbetween the cylinder 16 at the leftot "the piston 15 and the ex-- haustpipe through the valve mechanism 17. The supply pipe 23 and the exhaustpipe "25 areprovh ed with adjustable valves, 30 and 31, respectively,but that in the pipe 23 isnearly closed, while that in the exhaust Thepurpose thisarrangen'ient will be explainedhereinafter.

it wil be vided at its u ired that the door-3 isproier right-handportion with by tliel'atch 42., sothat t i'e loor can that it would bediilieult to open the door even though therewere no cateh to retain thedoor in closed position.

The latch mechanism is illustrated in do tail in Figs. -5 and 6. whereinit will be seen I that the hook or latch 42 is pivoted on an ,in-.

lows:

lease the catch 41.

wardly-extcruling pin46 which is secured to" the upper end ofthelever36. This latch 42 is held against-the lever, 36 and also againstthe screw-threaded rod 4.3, by means of a roiection 46. 'lhe l 43 are soarranged, that when the lever 36 is rotated to a certain extent in aclockwise direction, the lever 36 and the lateh42 will be moved alongthe rod 43 so as to release the latch 42 from the. catch 41..

screw-threads on the I()( Theo eration of my invention. is as to]- theoperating lever 40 is moved to the position shown in Fig, 2. -'l.helever 36 is thus rotated in a clockwisedirection to ell'ect a movementof the latch 42 ()tltWttIilly to re lhe door now Presto be moved by thepower operating-metal]an square inch.

Then it is desired to move the door from its closed position as shownI11 Fig. 1,

ism. At the same time that the lever 36 is oscillated, the arm 19 ismoved to-the left until the projection 21 strikes against the lug 22.The valve mechanism 17 'will thusbe .o erated to admit the compressedair t rough the restricted opening in thevalve 30 to the cylinder 16 atthe right of the piston 15.. At the same time, theexhaust ipe 25 is-b'rougl'it into communication with t e 'cyli11 der 16 to the leitof the)iston 15 through the valve mechanism and the pipe 26. ton 15 will nowbe moved to the left toforci- The pis- 'hly actuate the rack 11 and thusrotate the speed, and therefore the door is not properly cushioned. Toobviate this, I use an adjustable aperture such as the valve 30 foradmittingair under pressure to the cylinder. The instant the valvemechanism 17 is operated to admit air under pressure, the air rushes.into the right-hand end of-the cylinder 16 and starts to force thepiston to the other end.

of the cylinder, thus putting the door in motion. The inertia oi thedoor which has to be overcome, and the smallness of the available spaceto the right of the iston 15, allows the pressure to run up to ii lloperating pressure, which may be about 70 lbs. per

door a good start. The adjustable aperture or valve 30 is so' arrangedthat the speed of the piston as it moves in operating the doorsufficient to materially reduce the operating pressure in the cylinder.The operating pressure steadily falls therehire from 70 lbs. per squareinch to perhaps somethu'lg like 20 lbs. per'square inch. Fiu'therlnore,a weight or spring such as that indicated at t may be connected to thecar hody zit--19 and to the leveror' arm 8 at 47. lrel'erably theconnecting point 49 is in sul'istant-ial vertical.

This high 1.)ressu're gives the' al-ine'ment with'the projectioniii-hearing: 9. i

The spring 48 operates to accelerate the motion of the door or pistonduring the first half of the trai'el in either direction and to retardthe motion during the second half of the travel. I The operationof thespring, therefore, consists in causing the operating pressure to fall(llll'lllg the first hall of thostroke of the'plston l5, and byretarding the motion ol'the door in' the latter part of the stroke 'itenables the operating pressure to rise again The retarding toward itslull pressure. power of thesprmgaetmg through the medium of-thccranlearm8 is suilicient to resist sting pressure behind it, but as thcoperatingpressure builds up toward its. normal presnsure it exceeds the resistingpower of the door in opening or. closing, the operating pressure in thecylinder is less than the re tardmg power, 1f the door 1s moving raidly, but-the operating pressure rises ab ove t 1e retar-ding, pressureii the door is moving slowly. Ii -this way I obtain-an accurateself-cushioningdevice which in practice needslit'tle or nql ttention oradjustment I I v -.Erei erably,- the fluid motor and the connectionsbetween the same and the door are ar-" rangedunder and back of the seatsin the car,-

but obviously they may'have any other-desired location. Instead ofcontrollingthe operation of one door from the lever 40, I may controltheoperation of a. plurality of gldoors, as, for example, by connectingan adzgj tional rod similar to to the bell-.crank 3 k [iia'ndthusactuating an additional vertical rod at the middle similar-to thatdesignated 33 to operate valve mechanism adapted tojmovea. door portionof the bodyof the car or elsewhere. I

The'valve mechanism v17 may have only so ex jaust positions and also astop position. When the do] r is in open position as shown in Fig. .2,the ivotal points 5, 7 and Bare in substantial aiinement with eachother, so that the door can notbe" moved bysorne outside force applieddirectly to'the' door. Pref tion in the and exhaust osi tions, "so thatthe doorvvi be held open y; ain'press re'fagainst-th'e action of thespring 48. when it is desired to close 'the'door, the lever,5=0;is movedinto the osition shown in Fig, 1. ':I n s'uplfc'ase; the etch 42 willbemo vc e(;l i'nt its original osi path of the;catch4 1"on-'the' oor,but inasmuch as the latch 42 ispositively held from inovementin alefthanddirection only, the door may be; fully closed. In thisoperation, the, catch 41 will engage the latch- 42 on its left-hand sideand move "the same against the action of the spring 45 until the latchsnaps into theposition shownlin Fig. 1 to assist in holding the door inclosed tion.

What I claim and desireto have protected by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates-is:

1. The combination with a door, of a inc-- tor for operating said door,and means for effecting a variation of the operating pressure peed atwhich erably, the'valve' mechanism has only supply 1 J posi- 1n lnverseproportion to the s the door is moved. I

2. The combination with a door, of a fluid ressure motor connected tooperate said door, a source of fluid pressure supply, means ply andexhaust positions, or supply and" for; controlling said motor from apointfad the do(Jr-way, and means to effect a variation of the operatingpressure in the motor in inverse proportion to the speed-at -.which thedoor is moving.

3. The'combination with a door, of'a no- ,tor connected to open or closesaid door,

means for retaining said door in closed-p'o'si p tion,-controlling-mechanism for said motor a single-means for actuatingsa1d-reta1n1ng-.

means ,and said controlling "means, and.

means to'vary'the operatingressure in inverse proportion to the specdoor is moved. 4; Thecombination with a door, of pressure apparatusformoving'said door,

a which themeans for varying the operating-pressure in saidfluid==pressure apparatus 111 nversepro portion "to the speed at whichthe door is f moved, controlling mechanism for s'aidfiuidpressureapparatus, latch-mechanism for retaining the door in closed position,and.a,sin'-- gle means for operating said latch-mec'han controlling--mec hanisrn' to effect amove'- merit of the door to open position. 1

ism to release the door and foractuating said 5. The combinationwith'-'a door, of a fluidpressu're motor, connections between-said motorand-the door; a source of fluid-pressure supply for said-motor, meansforfvarying' the operating r'essure" therein" in inverse proportion to te speed at whichthe door is moving, automatic latch-mechanism forretaining the "door .in closed position when" 'close'd, controllingmeans for the motor, and

manual Ineans'for actuating said latch-meoh'- anismto release the doorand for operating with a door, of an op- I said controlling-means toeffect theopening cylinder and the door, a retardin device,

meansfor rendering said retardingevice in} operative during the firs'tpartof-the motion. 0

the door, and means for varying theoperating-pressure thereininf-inverse proportiqn to the speed at which'the door islrnoved.

7. The combination with a door, of an 0E- crating-cylinder, a istontherein, a cran arm, a; connection' etween said crank-arm and thedoo'r,means actuated saidpiston for moving said crank-arm, a retarding device,ineans for"render1n the retardingdevice inoperative during t e first artof the motion of the door, and means or varying the operatin-pressure'therein in inverse proportion. to t e speed at which the dooris moved. 3

8. The combination with a .door, of a cranlg-arm, a connection betweensaid crankarm and the door, a fluid-pressure motor for actuating cr:ik-arm to efiectan opening or closing of the door, a retarding device,means for rendering said retarding device inoperative during the firstpart of the motion of the door, and nheans for varying theoperating-pressure therein in inverse proportion to the speed at whichthe door is moved.

9. The combination with a door, oi an opcrating-cylinder, a pistontherein, connections between said piston and the door, means forassisting the pressure applied to said piston during the first part ofthe motion of the door and. for resisting such pressure during thelatter part of the motion of the door to effect a cushioning thereof,and means for varying the operating pressure therein in inverseproportion to the speed at which the door is moved. I I 10. Thecombination witha door, of an operatin cylinder, a piston therein,connections ietween said piston and the door, a

' spring acting on said connections to assist the pressure applied tosaid piston during inder, a piston in the first part of the motion ofthe door and to resist saidpressure during the latter part of the motionof the door, and means for varying the operating-pressure therein ininverse pro- 'portion to the speed at which the door is moved. I 1 1.The combination with a door, of a cylinder, av piston in said cylinderactuated by the fluid-pressure, connections between the piston and thedoor, said connections com.- prising a crank-arm, means for acceleratingthe speed of the door during the first part of its motion andforretarding the speed of the door during the latter part of its motion,and means for varying the operating pressure in the cylinder in inverseproportion. to the speed at which the door is moving.

12. The combination with a door, of a fluid-i pressure motor connectedto operate said door, means for accelerating the speed of the doorduring the first part of itsmotion and for retarding the speed thereofduring the latterpart of its motion, and means for varying the operatingpressure' inth'e motor in in-. verse'proport on to the speed at whichthe door is moving;

13. The comblnation with a door, of a cylpisspeed of the door during thefirst partof its name to this specification said cylinder; connections,comprising a crank-arm, between sald ton and the door, means foraccelerating the l motion and for retarding the speed of the door duringthe latter part oi its motion, a source of fluid-pressure supply, andmeans for cmitrolling the ilow of fluid to and from said cylinder toeffect a variation of'the opwrating-pressure in the cylinder in inversel proportion to the speed at which the door is IllOVlIl 14. lhecombination with a door, of a fluid-pressure motor,- connections,comprising a crank arm, between said motor and the door; a spring actingon said crank-arm to accelerate the speed of the door during the firstpart of its motion, means for controlling said motor, and means toeffect a variation of the operating-pressure therein in inverse moving.

15. The combination with a door, of fluid pressure apparatus foroperating said door, means for acceleratin the speed of the door lduring the first part 0% its motion and for retarding the speed of thedoor part 0 its motion, latch-mechanism for retaining the door in closedposition, means for pressure apparatus in inverse the speed at which thedoor is moving, con trolling-mechanism for the motor, and means foractuating said latch-mechanism to release the door and for operatingsaid controlling mechanism to effect the opening of the door.

16. The combination with a door, of a motor, a pivoted crank armconnected to the motor, a link pivotally connected between the door andsaid crank arm, means for controlling the operation of said motor tobring the pivotal oints of said arm and linkin siibstantial a incmentboth whenthe door is open and when the door is closed, and meansoperable from a point adjacent the door to be operated for actuatingsaid motor-controlling means.

, ln'testimony, whereof I have signed my in the presence of witnesses. v

PARIS R. FORMAN.

two subscribing Witnesses:

' T. D. CHRISTOPHER,

M. A. BERG, Jr.

proportion to the speed at which the door is during thelatter varymg theoperating-pressure 1n sa d flu d I proportion to;

